Soil aeration is a conventional technique used by groundskeepers to reduce compaction in the ground soil, stimulate plant growth, and promote proper drainage. Soil may become compacted from overuse or environmental effects, which ultimately affects the soil permeability and development of rooted plants within the soil. In particular, compacted soil restricts the amount of oxygen that can enter the soil and the amount of carbon dioxide that can escape. Not all soils are affected equally by overuse and environmental factors. The amount of compaction depends on soil composition, the amount of vegetation, and the moisture content of the soil. Periodic soil aeration relieves the compaction in the soil before the negative effects overburden the soil to the point that it can no longer support desirable vegetation.
Some conventional soil aerators penetrate the ground using coring tubes that penetrate the ground and remove “plugs” of soil. When the plugs of soil are removed from the ground, the treated ground surface is littered with the soil plugs, and each newly formed pocket may be surrounded by dented or elevated regions of turf.
In more recent aeration systems, a soil aeration apparatus may include a set of aeration blades that cut the soil in a planetary motion so as to form the aeration pockets. In these cases, there are no plugs of soil that are removed from the ground and littered across the ground surface. However, on some ground surfaces (e.g., putting greens or the like), some of the aeration blades may create a small upward lip or elevated region of turf during the formation of the aeration pockets.